building and improving access to the evidence base for policy-making in areas affecting consumers, for designing smart and targeted regulations and for detecting any market malfunctioning or changes in consumers’ needs, providing a basis for the development of consumer policy, for the identification of the areas most problematic for consumers and for the integration of consumer interests into other Union policies;

(Return tabled) Question No. 121 Mr. Ted Hsu: With regard to the implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA): (a) what steps has Canada undertaken to complete an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) with the United States; (b) with what type of legal instrument will the government enact a FATCA implementation agreement; (c) will the government bring an IGA before Parliament and, if so, in what form; (d) what steps are in place to ensure parliamentary review of an IGA; (e) what studies have been undertaken as to whether an IGA can be implemented as an interpretation of the existing double tax treaty; (f) in what ways will the government involve Parliament in any process to amend interpretation of t ...[+++]he double taxation treaty; (g) who is involved in the process indicated in (a); (h) by what criteria is the government evaluating any proposed IGA with the US; (i) who established the criteria in (h), (i) on what date, (ii) under what authority; (j) is a draft IGA currently being negotiated, and if so, what is the status of said negotiations; (k) when will the draft IGA be made public; (l) will the public be consulted for input on any agreement, and if so, by what means; (m) with which specific individuals and groups did the Minister of National Revenue consult regarding FATCA, and on what dates; (n) with which specific individuals and groups did the Minister of National Revenue consult regarding any IGA, and on what dates; (o) with which specific individuals and groups did the Minister of Finance consult regarding FATCA, and on what dates; (p) with which specific individuals and groups did the Minister of Finance consult regarding any IGA, and on what dates; (q) what studies and analyses has the Department of Finance undertaken with respect to FATCA; (r) what studies and analyses has the Department of National Revenue undertaken with respect to FATCA; (s) what analyses and studies have been undertaken as to whether the proposed FATCA re ...

Would like the Agenda for Change to specify the important and independent role of regional and local authorities and civil society, not only in implementing development programmes and projects, but also as fundamental players in the process of developing evidence-based development policies; highlights the importance of improving cooperation with them and calls for regular dialogue and consultations with them in policy-making; in this regard, underlines the importance of establishing dialogue between the EU and civil society organisations and regional and local authorities;

The evaluation points out that although Cedefop’s 'open source' role serving a wide VET community was successful, now may be the time for Cedefop to focus more on the interests of its immediate stakeholders, particularly in policy development. The evaluation correctly states that these two activities ('open source' – supporting policy development) are not incompatible. Although Cedefop now provides more support for policy development, many activities serve the wider VET community. The issue is not one of incompatibility, but of balance that needs to be captured in strategy.

- Science and governance: analysing and support to best practice; developing new consultation mechanisms (such as citizens' fora) to promote more productive involvement of civil society and relevant stakeholders in policy formulation and implementation, including the communication of scientific outputs necessary to decision taking in terms readily understandable to civil society and other stakeholders; monitoring activities concerning the functioning of policy-making processes to assess the interaction between experts, industry, civ ...[+++]il society and policy makers.

Our mission is to increase the use of wood by assuring the broad regulatory acceptance of wood, developing design tools and guidelines for wood construction, and influencing the development of public policies affecting the use and manufacture of wood products.